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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29067345">22 Visitors | Lee Taeyong</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/NctzenGrass/pseuds/NctzenGrass'>NctzenGrass</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCT (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>A n g s t y, Angst, Fluff? idk her, It's a little sad, Mental Health Issues, how sad can it be?, i promise it's still not too sad, if you find fluff you were squinting really hard, it's literally taeyong and his 22 children, like a lot, open ending? kinda, while he's in a psychiatric hostpital</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 09:00:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,308</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29067345</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/NctzenGrass/pseuds/NctzenGrass</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Lee Taeyong is locked up in a psychiatric hospital within a padded room for observing. For the next 22 days he will receive a different visitor and  each one will unfold the story of how he ended up in the said hospital.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>22 Visitors | Lee Taeyong</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I decided t publish this in honor of my 17th birthday. So here I am!<br/>I don't have a lot to say, just enjoy<br/>If you have a weak heart I am so sorry</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Taeyong is lying down on his not so comfortable bed in his dimly lit room watching the ceiling as if it is the most interesting object he has ever seen. Although, there isn’t much more for the male to see inside his small room — however, it is an adequate size for a patient in observation. While other patients within his hospital are out and about, taking classes and interacting in shared rooms, he stays alone, trapped, feeling forgotten, and he feels like he has been in here, alone for an eternity, even though the reality of it is that he has only been within the padded walls for a couple of days.</p>
<p>The most human interaction that Taeyong has received the past couple of days is when a doctor would come and change his outfit. It (being the clothing) obviously is nothing extraordinary, rather unattractive if you ask the unmoving male on the bed. He wears white pajama-like clothing with deformed shapes everywhere coated in primary colors and gray vertical stripes from top to bottom with about two inches in between each line. </p>
<p>Being stuck in a room alone for days has left Taeyong with nothing to do but observe the bland room he’s in. Even while shutting his eyes, he would be able to tell you that the perfectly symmetrical room has forty-eight squares paddings on three of the walls ― thirty-six on the side with doors ― each one having eight horizontally and six vertically. The padded floor has four larger rectangles going from one side of the room to the other, lining up as each rectangle takes up the space of two squares in width. His bed is in the corner of the room, the door diagonal of it. A camera sits in each corner of the room, except for over his bed so he can’t reach it. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Just because Taeyong has lost track of how many days he has been in the room, it doesn’t change his ability to tell what time it was. He could see the light from outside of the doors in his room, and his energy level is very dependent on the time of day. When his energy is at his highest, the doctors observing him often begin to worry as he bounces off the walls. </p>
<p>It’s still early in the morning despite the fact that Taeyong has already consumed his breakfast. Lunch wouldn’t be for a couple of hours. What is he going to do with those couple of hours? Probably nothing. Either way, there isn’t much for the younger male to do other than lie down lifelessly as he does most mornings, but his plans begin to change as a thought and an odd feeling enters his chest. Taeyong soon feels that he is not alone in the room. </p>
<p>Sitting up quickly, he is surprised to see a younger friend of his sitting in front of his bed. The friend smiles towards him and he hesitantly gives a small one in return. He hasn’t seen the boy that was in front of him since he initially first got put in the psychiatric hospital months ago. His hair has grown longer and changed from a dark brown to an almost blonde color. The visitor wears a black hoodie and blue jeans with rips at the knees. For shoes he wears a simple pair of high-top converse. </p>
<p>Taeyong feels as if his eyes are deceiving him. He just can’t believe that after losing contact with all of his friends the moment he was put in this hell hole, one is sitting right in front of him, a smile tracing his face. </p>
<p>“Not gonna say hi to a friend Taeyong?” the male speaks with his deep voice ringing in the patient’s ears, he had honestly forgotten that the boy had such a smooth and soothing voice. </p>
<p>“Y-you are actually h-here?” the patient can’t help but stutter as he talks to the boy in front of him. How could he possibly talk normally? He hasn’t felt human enough to talk to non-doctors for weeks now. “T-they let me h-have v-visitors?” A small nod is all he gets in response. Feeling the need to be more polite than he is, Taeyong sits up and rests his back on the headboard of his bed.</p>
<p>What Taeyong really wants to do is crawl over to the other boy and engulf him in a tight hug, not letting him go until the doctors have to pry him off, but he doesn’t. Something told him not to. A small voice inside of him told him that it was wrong to hug the other. That it was wrong to show that much affection to the boy. Like if he were to hug him, a part of him would never be the same.</p>
<p>Instead of hugging the boy, Taeyong just decides to ask him a question. A question that has been bothering him since the moment he saw the boy sitting in front of his bed with a smile on his face. “Why are you here?”</p>
<p>A soft giggle is heard as if the boy knew that this question would be coming at some point. After giggling, however, the boy looks down at his hands, his smile falling. Admitting that he hasn’t been a good friend for not visiting is something he has been doing since the moment he decided to pay a visit, he knows no one has visited Taeyong in the hospital. He knows he should’ve visited, he knows he should’ve at least called, sent mail, asked the staff about him, anything, but he didn’t. He left Taeyong to deal with things on his own, live his life alone in the hospital. He acted as if Taeyong didn’t basically raise him. </p>
<p>“I guess I came,” the boy stops. He’s thinking. Words at this moment are more important than any action he can show to the already timid older. “I came because I missed you. And I still feel bad about not coming to visit.” He plays with his fingers as he talks, not daring to look into the eyes of the male sitting in front of him. Taeyong’s eyes, on the other hand, hold a soft and loving gaze towards the younger male. He couldn’t be mad at him. What was he to be mad at? The boy probably has his own life to deal with and coming out to the hospital to talk to a mentally ill person probably wasn’t something at the top of his to-do list. </p>
<p>“Jisung,” the younger boy finally looks up, his eyes meeting Taeyong’s. It has been a while since the older has had this much liveliness within his dark eyes,nonetheless, it isn’t any less sincere. His friend began to feel the nervousness he felt before melting away when the older began to scoot closer until he was sitting right in front of him, legs criss-crossed on the end of his bed. “You don’t have to feel bad about not coming, I understand.” </p>
<p>Taeyong brings his hand forward and places it on top of Jisung’s rather large one. A sad smile makes its way to the olders face. He is hurting a lot more than he would like to admit, and he really hopes Jisung doesn’t notice ― happy in fact that Jisung is one of his denser friends who doesn’t catch onto things quickly. </p>
<p>“I should feel bad though,” Taeyong removes his gaze from his hand on the others to the younger's eyes, they too are laced with sadness. It wasn’t like Jisung didn’t want to visit, he just couldn’t. There was no way to come, no way for him to have the mentality to come at least. He felt unwelcome by Taeyong for many months, even though he hadn’t talked to him, therefore, he just didn't come, at least not until today. “I have been with you for a long time Taeyong. You helped me grow into the Park Jisung that I am today. The least I could’ve done is let you know that I am alive and living well.” </p>
<p>Taeyong gives Jisung a sad nod, not really having the energy to argue against the younger's words. It hadn’t been a lie that the older had practically raised his younger friend. They had first met when he was only nine, the boy basically lived with him, he’s twenty now. Taeyong has been with Jisung longer than not. </p>
<p>His eyes don’t leave the younger's face as a bitter laugh is released as he continues talking, “damn Taeyong, you literally made me, me.” The younger doesn’t return the gaze, he rather looks up slightly, fighting tears. “I really found you while you were going through a hard time, but you still made sure I was your first priority. The least I could’ve done was be here for you.”</p>
<p>Memories begin to flow into Taeyong’s head, as he listens to Jisung’s words, each one causing a new image to enter his head. Almost as if the younger is reminding his older friend of how they met, became friends; how Taeyong became a father-like figure in his life. Even if the memories at one point brought pain, and eventually landed him in a mental hospital, he never interrupts Jisung, but rather listens to the boy tell the story as if he is reading a file that is part of a portfolio of Taeyong’s pitiful life. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Taeyong walks down the street, his jet black hair lying messily on his forehead. People walking down the same street make way for the teenager, avoiding him as if he is some kind of parasite or is coated with some kind of virus they will get if they are within a couple of feet of him. It wasn’t fair for the teen. He did nothing wrong. Everyone in his, as he would say, shitty little city thought of him as a mere worthless human. Like he chose to be born.</p>
<p>This year Taeyong was sixteen, and today was the day that his father decided he didn’t want Taeyong anymore. He decided that he didn’t want to live with the demon child for even a second longer, but it wasn’t Taeyong’s fault that he is like this. What did he do?</p>
<p>While walking down the street, Taeyong sees a small cafe and decides to go in. Many people who see him enter the cafe quickly look away and some begin to gather their stuff so that they can leave, it really is a normal occurrence. The male decides to go to the bathroom first, allowing people to remove themselves from the building if they wanted to in peace. </p>
<p>When he enters the one person bathroom, he locks the door before turning and looking at himself in the mirror. I look like shit. Maybe I would run if I saw this face walking down the street as well. Taeyong can’t help but to think of himself negatively while looking in the mirror. There are purple bags under his eyes ― big enough to carry everything Mary Poppins carries within her bag ― and a pale face. He looks sick. He looks like he is carrying a deadly virus. He looks like a parasite. </p>
<p>The one thing everyone loved about his town was that it is an ideal place to live. Many happy and healthy residents, only a small hospital within the town as many people live quietly. No psychiatric hospital could be found in his location, the residents felt it unnecessary and only a nuisance to their perfect life in the city. Taeyong hates this place. </p>
<p>After looking at himself, his dead eyes, messy hair, untidy clothes, for a while, he feels it is safe to go out of the bathroom and back into the cafe. He knew that news of him being there had spread as it was only him and one employee within the cafe. As he leaves the bathroom, the said employee pulls on her mask and doesn’t pull it down until after finishing Taeyong’s order, setting it in front of him, and leaving the cafe for him to be alone in. </p>
<p>Taeyong continues to drink his coffee, that tastes more bitter than usual, when he feels a presence in the building with him. He looks up and sees a small boy standing in front of him. The boy’s eyes are filled with happiness and innocence, something Taeyong wished he had. The small boy pulls the chair in front of Taeyong out and sits himself in it, giving an innocent smile to the dead-looking sixteen year old. The teen tries to give back the same energy, but he can’t. A forced and pained smile is all that makes it to his face, causing the younger to tilt his head slightly. </p>
<p>“Why are you sitting here all alone?” the boy speaks with a squeaky voice, a small empathy filled pout making its way onto his lips. “You don’t look very happy.”</p>
<p>Taeyong lets out a bitter laugh. “I guess happiness isn’t easy to attain when you are unwanted by the entire world.” As much as he wished he hadn’t just said that to a child ― a literal child, the kid is in like elementary school ― it was the truth, and lately that’s all he’s been able to say. He had no reason to lie, the entire world already didn’t like him, so what was the point of lying to be more pleasing to people?</p>
<p>“Well I can be your friend,” Taeyong perks up when the boy says those lines , but he still continues to feel a little sad as the boy is only a small child who will probably be dragged out of the cafe by his mom if she were to see him talking to Lee Taeyong. “My name is Park Jisung and I am nine years old.” The little boy smiles again as he makes the number nine on his finger. The older would coo at the boy’s cuteness, but he didn’t have the energy, the want, the happiness, anything really to get it out. </p>
<p>“You are Lee Taeyong, right?” the little boy continues to talk to Taeyong alone, continuing with full content even without answers from the older male. The teen just nods in response. This isn’t the first time he has been in a position of making a new friend, he did have a couple, but they were never this young, nor did they ever approach him first.</p>
<p>Taeyong and Jisung continue to talk within the cafe, Taeyong looking after the younger as if he is his actual younger brother. People that passed by outside would look at the sight, petrified, you would think they were watching Taeyong killing and eating the poor boy, but they were only talking, engaging in conversation as any normal human being would do; of course everyone in the city knows that Taeyong isn’t in fact normal, but rather odd. </p>
<p>After that day, Jisung continued to visit Taeyong anywhere he could in the city. The little boy becoming attached to the teen, wanting to make the older happy. Taeyong began to feel that the boy didn’t have a family and began to allow the child to stay with him in a small abandoned house he had found at the end of the city. </p>
<p>The house was where Taeyong grew up in years of life before going into the mental hospital. More of a miniature house, his home only had a small kitchen and living room connected and a room that could only fit a bed, mirror, and a nightstand that held all of his clothes and a bathroom. </p>
<p>Going to school, he always had trouble in paying for the place as he couldn’t find work, but he found a way to pay eventually, and Jisung would come and stay with him, no complaints. Jisung was rather fully content with Taeyong and the small house. The teen raised the boy from then on. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Jisung stops talking, he looks at Taeyong whose eyes have gone dazed as he thought of his hurtful past and the boy who came to make it better, worth living. Every moment they had together passing through his head so vivid, almost like it happened just yesterday.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Taeyong,” Jisung’s voice is timid. He talks slowly, focusing on every word that rolls off his tongue as if it will be the last one he is going to tell the older. The younger male begins to fiddle with his fingers and focus his eyes on them, avoiding eye contact as much as possible. “Chenle will be coming tomorrow. He umm… He told me that he would be.” </p>
<p>Instead of saying anything, Taeyong just simply nods his head in understanding, but Jisung still looks as if he is holding himself back from saying something. Something that may just happen to be extremely important to the future of the other, maybe even his mental health to be specific. </p>
<p>“Jisung,” Taeyong leans forward slightly, causing the latter to finally look into his eyes. Innocence that is normally visible in the younger's eyes is gone, left with nothing but pain, regret, longing, they feel as if he is letting something go, and maybe that is exactly what he is going to do. Despite the fear of knowing what is going on in Jisung’s head, the need to ask him is still present. “Is there something going on? Something that you want to tell me? You know I am here for you, right?” </p>
<p>“That’s the problem,” Jisung talks quietly, enough for Taeyong to hear, but his vocals are wrapped in rasp as it is almost a whisper, but not quite. The older’s eyebrows furrow as he looks at the younger who is beginning to back away from him, his eyes finding their way to his large hands. “You don’t have to be here for me anymore.”</p>
<p>Silence</p>
<p>As if everyone has stopped breathing, the room is still, not a sound. Nothing. </p>
<p>Only a confused patient and his younger visitor sitting in silence. </p>
<p>“Jisung what do you mean by that?” a genuine question that he also feels he doesn’t want answered. Jisung has always been a playful person, never serious. Even in serious situations, Taeyong was able to find relief while being with Jisung as he would always make them less tense. However, this time, he caused the tension. </p>
<p>“It’s not that I don’t need you,” although the distance between the two is only about two feet and they stay unmoving, with every word Jisung says, Taeyong feels as though a gap is coming in between them, like they are being ripped away from each other. Almost like they were slowly forgetting every moment that made their friendship. “I really do need you Taeyong, but you don’t need me. I am a nuisance. I am nothing but someone who should remove themself from your life forever. So that you can get better. You lasted without me for a few months. I know you can do it.”</p>
<p>Taeyong looks at the boy in disbelief, “so are you saying that you didn’t come here because you missed me, but for other reasons?” </p>
<p>A small nod.</p>
<p>“I came to say goodbye,” he finally says them; the words Taeyong didn’t want to hear until the day he died. The words were said at a moderate speed, but they burn into Taeyong’s ears slowly, every word like a knife to his chest. “Believe me Taeyong, you are better off. I think you are coming to that realization too.”</p>
<p>“Is Chenle coming for the same reason?” Taeyong talks quietly, attempting to keep his voice from cracking but failing. </p>
<p>Nod. </p>
<p>“I have to go now Taeyong,” the boy stands up and begins to walk towards the door, he opens it as another doctor does at the same time with his lunch. “Goodbye.” </p>
<p>He was gone. </p>
<p>Forever.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>No sorry there is no m/m relationships, I write those on wattpad, I may publish them on here, but I don't know yet. I would need to do a lot of editing for that...</p></blockquote></div></div>
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